Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, said last Sunday (6th) that the social network would “investigate” the censorship it was allegedly preaching in Brazil. The “promise” was a response to a political commentator who sent the billionaire a tweet saying that right-wing Brazilians are victims of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and its communications platform.
“Of course Twitter has to abide by the decisions of the Brazilian ‘court’. But the company went further, self-imposed censorship, even stricter than our flawed courts. In a caption quoting the billionaire, Paulo Figueiredo Filho wrote that his moderators are more dictatorial than our own courts.
Musk saw the conversation and said he’d look at Paulo and find out about the case.without further comment on what to do about the alleged censorship.
I will investigate this
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 7 November 2022
The Twitter owner had already shown interest in the subject in the same thread. The story began with columnist Fernanda Salles. People’s NewspaperIt lists a list of conservative personalities who have been subject to sanctions on the social network.
In response, a user identified as Josiano Padovani wrote to Musk in English that Twitter was “imposing brutal ideological censorship on the Brazilian people’s right to freedom of expression” and that the country was going through a “critical moment”. Stand up and stand up now against censorship,” he tweeted.
After this message, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX also joined the conversation and asked what censorship Josiano was talking about.
Right call to Musk
Politicians, analysts, and other advocates of the Brazilian right and far right have long complained about the alleged unequal treatment on social media, especially on Twitter. Luciano Hang (owner of Havan), Carla Zambelli (assistant), Nikolas Ferreira (assistant), Allan dos Santos (journalist) and more recently Marcos Cintra (economist) were some of the conservative personalities who had their posts and even their accounts deleted.
According to the STF, most people affected by the decisions are involved in the spread of misinformation on Twitter and other platforms. During the last election cycle, the court accused the individuals of spreading fake news in favor of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
Conservative profiles see Elon Musk as an opportunity to make his voice heard, as the entrepreneur has completed the acquisition of the platform and is now officially in charge of the company. Musk, a radical proponent of free speech, recently stated that he would not ban accounts that tracked his travels on his private plane, “even if there is a direct risk to the public.” [minha] personal security”.
My commitment to freedom of expression extends to not banning an account that tracks my flight, even though it’s a direct personal security risk.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 7 November 2022
Work with the right and the far right is not limited to Brazil, as Musk has commented that he should also undo the ban on former US president Donald Trump.
Trump deleted his Twitter account in late 2020 after encouraging his supporters to invade the US Capitol for raising suspicions of fraud in the country’s presidential election.
Source: Tec Mundo
